Actor Eddie McClintock opens 'Warehouse 13'

Actor Eddie McCllintock in a scene from the Sci-Fi Channel series "Warehouse 13."

Lattimer and Bering are not Mulder and Scully.

That's according to Eddie McClintock, who stars as Peter Lattimer in the upcoming Sci Fi Channel series "Warehouse 13." Lattimer and Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) are Secret Service agents relocated, suddenly and without explanation, to a top-secret U.S. government facility in South Dakota that houses strange, powerful and occasionally supernatural artifacts.

"You have to believe in the warehouse," McClintock said during a recent interview at a Sci Fi Channel event in Manhattan. "The proof is there. We both witness things. I know in 'The X-Files' (1993-2002) Mulder was the believer and Scully was the nonbeliever, but in the warehouse these things happen right in front of us, so there is no denying what is happening.

"Pete thinks it's cool, and he's more into it," the actor explained, "whereas Myka saw bigger things for her life. She was guarding the president, and now she's in South Dakota at some warehouse and there's no glory there. So it's a giant playhouse for me, but she feels like she's been downgraded a little bit."

Set for a two-hour premiere on July 7, "Warehouse 13" also stars veteran character actor Saul Rubinek as Artie, a good guy who has become a bit quirky after too many years of serving as caretaker of the warehouse. McClintock, whose credits include starring or recurring roles on such television shows as "Stark Raving Mad" (1999-2000), "Crumbs" (2006) and "Bones" (2007), sounds excited as he discusses "Warehouse 13."

"It's a little sci-fi, because we have got some supernatural stuff happening from time to time, but it's more about earthbound artifacts that emotionally affect the players in the piece," he said. "So it's not about, 'Oh, go get this alien head that we found at Area 51 and bring it back before it destroys the world.' It's more about, 'Go get this chair that has absorbed all these people's pain throughout the years as they were being analyzed by this famous psychotherapist.'

"That brings heart to the show. You have an emotional response to that, instead of, 'Jason just killed his 40th victim. Let's laugh at that.' "

And what kind of a guy is Lattimer?

"The greatest thing about my character is that I get to do everything," McClintock replied. "For an actor, I get to be funny, I get to be serious, I get to be aggressive and I get to be sad. I get to explore all the different emotions, as opposed to doing a procedural cop show where you walk in and say, 'OK, the blood spatter's here,' and 'The perp went out this door.'

"To me that seems a little one-dimensional. So I'm thrilled that I get to do all the things that would be done in different pieces in one character."

For example, he says, Lattimer occasionally experiences "vibes" that prompt him to action, action that may seem odd or unnecessary to others, at least initially. Plus there's some darkness from his past that carries over into his present.

"Pete's father died when he was young," the 42-year-old actor said. "He's taken on a lot of guilt for that. It's caused him to be very driven, but at the same time it's caused him to be very reckless and self-destructive. He had some problems with drinking in college, but he's sober now and we touch on that a little bit, which I think is great. For a dramedy, to have the guy be a recovering alcoholic, it just gives the character so much depth.

"The people around him Artie and Pete have a kind of father-son relationship, and Artie sees and understands Myka's flaws and strong points and whatnot," McClintock said. "So he's a great sounding board for both characters. In one episode he says to me, 'You need to be in charge. You're more grounded. Don't let Myka know that I told you.' Then he goes to Myka and says the same thing, because he wants to get the best out of both characters.

"And I think Myka is the exact opposite of Pete. He respects her for her brain and her ability, but he wishes that she could just lighten up a little bit. That makes their relationship adversarial at times, but we're trying to stay away from that stereotypical adversarial relationship where he's water and she's wine.

"Joanne and I have purposely made it a brother-sister thing," McClintock added, "instead of, 'Oh, when are these two going to end up having sex?' And we may still have sex - the characters - but it's not all about that, and I like that."